A companion for writers and directors

Menu

Pitching for the International TV Market

So many film-makers I know live and work around the world. So how do you pitch yourself and your projects to this brave new global market? I have spent the last five years between London and New York, producing and directing for US and UK television. I recently gave a talk on how to pitch beyond the UK for the BBC and Creative Skillset – here’s what I came up with:

1) Get Moving. Go to international TV festivals to meet TV Execs from around the world – MIPCOM and MIPTV are well-established markets; for factual try Realscreen and Realscreen West in the US and Sheffield in the UK. NYTVFest can put you in a room with networks like Fox to pitch your comedy pilots directly.

2) Get Online. There are many online briefings available – Radarscreen offers global factual briefs and commissions; Cynopsis is great for US TV news; our own TVMole serves up excellent UK and international commissioning news, not forgetting Broadcast which covers not only the UK but the latest international deals too.

3) Partner Up. You can find a UK Indie that has a presence in the country you are targeting, or contact the Indie Unit at BBC Worldwide for advice on where to pitch your projects and who to contact, which can act as your sales and distribution company. Or use your agent or approach foreign channels directly through your own company if you prefer.

4) Watch their Shows. Sounds obvious but if you want to make shows for a foreign audience, you need to key into what already works there, it’s a different country, a different culture with different audience expectations. Ignore this at your peril… because

5) Style matters. Identify the many differences in format for the country you’re pitching to compared to say the UK version of the same show and adopt this style in your pitch, written treatments and teaser reels.

6) Speak their Language – Each country has it’s own particular business culture, which you need to learn and operate within. The best way is through living and working there, but you can also ask advice from colleagues who’ve been there and learn from their experience.

7) Treat Co-producers with Respect. A commission from another country is not just gap-financing, they are buying a say in the final product and if you have more than one country in play, you need to balance the needs of all of them with your own taste as a writer/director or producer.

8) Be your own Brand. Be you – internationally. Your programme ideas are could be universal in their appeal if you think outside country lines and reach out to the audience you identify with most – wherever that may be in the world.